New York City LWIB Regional Plan PROGRAM YEAR 2013
Narrative
1. Describe the progress that has been made on the action steps you outlined in support of REDC strategic goals and priorities in your 2012 Regional Plan.
NYC LWIB did not submit a 2012 Regional Plan, as the NYC LWIB was in transition due to the merger of WIB staff and the Mayor’s Office of Adult Education into the New York City Office of Human Capital Development. However, our 2012 Local Plan did reflect alignment to goals and priorities of the REDC, such as priority to identify and strengthen employment opportunities that offer better compensation and upward mobility. This highlights two key sectors: healthcare and technology. We made incredible progress in 2012 by successfully connecting jobseekers to fill over 27,000 job opportunities, with nearly 10% in these target sectors.
2. Using labor market information provided through NYSDOL, identify the worker skills commensurate with your REDC’s target sectors.
REDC Strategic Plans can be found at http://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/ under the “Regional Councils” button.
In alignment to the REDC Strategic Plan industry priorities, the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), which administers the Workforce1 system, identified in 2012 a number of economic sectors with the most promising opportunities for the customers served by the system based on historical performance, current relationships with a variety of businesses, and opportunities for ongoing job opportunities. These sectors include the following and the minimum expected number of job opportunities we expect to develop:
Retail Trade: 11,500;
Accommodation and Food Services:6,000;
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services: 6,000, primarily security;
Healthcare and Social Assistance: 5,000; Transportation and Warehousing: 3,000;
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: 1,500; Wholesale Trade: 700;
Information: 700;
Finance and Insurance: 600; and Manufacturing: 550.
Specifically, in Healthcare, SBS coordinates with the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH) to fund innovative trainings, with curricula heavily informed by employer needs, in the following areas: medical coding and billing, certified clinical medical assistant, home health aide, and clinical residencies for registered nurses. SBS also expects to provide contracted training (training for which SBS enters into a contractual agreement with a training provider to deliver training to prepare a group of individuals for employment in a specific occupation) through the Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center. Examples include training to be Medical Assistants, Registered Nurses, Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics, and Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurses.
Jobseekers can also benefit from the Healthcare Center’s extensive relationships with hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community health centers.
In the IT sector, SBS is expanding opportunities for individuals with little or no experience in the field. First, SBS is funding the Borough of Manhattan Community College for an IT training program to provide CompTIA A+ computer repair and CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification for 120 individuals over the next two years.
Second, SBS is investing $500,000 in a pilot program to prepare a minimum of 25 web developers and connect them to jobs paying $65,000 or more.
New York City believes its training focus on the following in-demand occupations aligns strategically and closely with the priorities of the NYC REDC:
In-Demand Occupations Aligned with REDC Goals 1. Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 2. Medical Assistants
3. Computer Support Specialists 4. Computer Systems Analysts
5. Network and Computer Systems Administrators 6. Office Managers (Administrative Service Managers) 7. Registered Nurse
8. Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics 9. Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse 10. Computer Programmers
*NYC’s share of NYS Private Sector Employment/Payroll in IT: 59.6%/70.6% in Healthcare 44.6%/47.0% 3. Describe how the Regional Business Services Teams have been deployed to effectively broker the
region’s demand and supply for skilled workers in REDC target sectors.
As a strongly demand-driven system, the New York City One-Stop System – whose centers are known locally as Workforce1 Career Centers – pays close attention to the hiring needs of businesses across a range of industries. In 2012, the Workforce1 system successfully filled over 20,000
positions by directly connecting jobseekers to employers with open job opportunities. (An additional 7,000+ jobseekers received services from Workforce1 and found jobs on their own.) In 2013, SBS plans to exceed that number by continuing its strategy of assigning sales territories by sector, geography, and business size to different teams across the Workforce1 Career Centers.
Consequently, each center will continue to develop expertise in working with specific sectors of the New York City economy, as enumerated in the answer provided to question #2. Larger centers are assigned to win sales with large businesses, defined as having 125 or more employees. Smaller centers partner with NYC Business Solutions Centers to identify and fill the needs of small
businesses, defined as having fewer than 125 employees. Although the business development team at each center focuses only on a couple of sectors, jobseekers who visit a center have access to the full array of opportunities available through the system. Finally, each center also has a recruitment team responsible for sourcing, screening, and matching qualified candidates to fill job opportunities. 4. Identify existing resources to be utilized region-wide to help businesses and job seekers acquire
occupational skills necessary to support REDC target sectors.
Examples may include: align approval of Eligible Training Providers so that skills upgrading and training capacity can be viewed regionally (rather than locally); align procurement of youth services under the Workforce Investment Act with needs identified by the REDC; and align Individual Training Account policy across LWIAs within the region regarding amount, target sectors and/or skills. As described by REDC, New York City has the majority of New York State residents living below the poverty line. Unfortunately, few short-term employment solutions exist for people living in poverty who lack the education and skills required to qualify for most of the good jobs available in the 21st century economy. Priority for support will therefore go to projects that provide opportunities for training and
skills development, and create improved opportunities for communities and individuals in conditions of economic distress. In alignment with this identified need and priority, we plan to make significant training investments in the healthcare and IT sectors as well as increase the proportion of our overall spending on training from 11% to 18% in FY14.
In healthcare, SBS houses and coordinates closely with the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH), an entity that engages healthcare employers and major stakeholders in the analysis of current and future labor force needs, and partners with training and educational organizations to meet these needs. Started in 2010, NYACH is an initiative of the New York City Workforce Innovation Fund, a public/private partnership between the NYC Workforce Funders (a group of private foundations) and SBS. NYACH leverages private and public funding to convene employers, unions, government entities, educational institutions, and training providers, with the goal of identifying and filling skills gaps in the sector. NYACH places particular emphasis on redesigning curricula/training programs to match employer needs. In PY2013, NYACH will fund innovative trainings, with curricula heavily informed by employer needs, in the following areas: medical coding and billing, certified clinical medical assistant, home health aide, and clinical residencies for registered nurses. SBS and NYACH created a new staffing position, funded by both entities, that will ensure a close alignment between the investments made by the Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center, the one center in the Workforce1 system funded by the Workforce Investment Act that is focused exclusively on a single sector, and by NYACH. SBS expects to make some contracted training available through the Workforce1 Healthcare Career Center. Contracted training is training for which SBS enters into a contractual agreement with a training provider to deliver training to prepare a group of individuals for employment in a specific occupation. SBS anticipates making training available for Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Emergency Medical Technicians this year. The Healthcare Center has extensive relationships with hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community health centers, which it uses to place jobseekers into employment. This initiative influenced the inclusion of the three occupations above on the demand list.
Additionally, the past five years have highlighted that technology has been one of the fastest growing sectors in New York City. In fact, according to New York State Department of Labor, technology jobs in the five boroughs have risen from 33,000 in February 2003 to 52,900 in February 2012, an increase of 60%. The growth of this sector has outpaced the development of skilled workers. In response, Mayor Bloomberg, in his 2013 State of the City address, tasked the City in partnership with the local technology business community, universities and local organizations to develop an intensive computer science training program for adults looking to acquire technology skills. This program should connect these individuals to job opportunities with local technology companies. Consequently, SBS will competitively procure a training provider to provide web development training program to a minimum of 25 eligible trainees. Specifically, the program will be designed for individuals with little or no prior experience to become web developers and, at the end of the training, place these individuals in technology sector jobs.
SBS has also released a Request for Proposals to fund up to eight training programs that will prepare New Yorkers for middle skill jobs in a variety of occupations, from commercial drivers to computer network administrators to bookkeepers. SBS is strategically aligning these investments with
programs already receiving a significant amount of philanthropic funding as a way of leveraging public funds to expand the number of individuals receiving training.
Lastly, we realize that a majority of New Yorkers lack postsecondary degrees, and that certain mid-skill jobs require some form of licensing, credential or experience. To alleviate this, and bridge the gap for workers that have not yet obtained these credentials, we are offering Individual Training Grants or contracted training for careers in the occupations listed below.
Training available for in-demand occupations, aligned with REDC priorities
Occupations Training Channel
Medical Assistants Individual Training Grants
Registered Nurse Contracted Training
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics Contracted Training Licensed Practical or Licensed Vocational Nurse Contracted Training Computer Support Specialists Individual Training Grants Computer Systems Analysts Individual Training Grants Network and Computer Systems Administrators Individual Training Grants Computer Programmers Contracted Training
The following services are available to jobseekers throughout our Workforce1 Career Centers:
Service Description Availability
Introduction to Services Overview of all services available to customers All Workforce1 Career Centers Initial Assessment One-on-one assessment of a customer’s job readiness
and employment goal
All Workforce1 Career Centers Resource Room /
Computer Lab
Access to a computer and the internet for job search purposes
All Workforce1 Career Centers Workshops Acing the Interview
Create a Resume that Gets You the Job Resume Upgrade
All Workforce1 Career Centers
Individual Job Preparation
One-on-one preparation of a customer for employment, including resume review and job coaching
All Workforce1 Career Centers Individual Career
Counseling
One-on-one session with a customer to discuss career goals and training options to reach those goals
All Workforce1 Career Centers Individual Training
Grants
Grants of up to $3,800 to enroll in occupational skills training aligned with a demand occupation
Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Upper Manhattan Workforce1 Career Centers
Contracted Training Training for Emergency Medical Technicians, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Registered Nurses
Referral to External Training Services
Connection of a customer to training services offered at an external organization
All Workforce1 Career Centers Screening for Job
Opportunities
Screening of a customer for a fit with a specific job opportunity
All Workforce1 Career Centers Referral to Employer The scheduling of a customer for an interview with a
specific employer
All Workforce1 Career Centers GED Preparation Eligible customers can be enrolled in the Bridge to
Tomorrow program
All Workforce1 Career Centers Referral to Supportive
Services
Connection of a customer to services provided at an organization specializing in addressing particular employment barriers
All Workforce1 Career Centers
5. Describe how the business memberships of the region’s LWIBs have or are planned to be aligned with REDC target sectors and/or REDC members.
The New York Office of Human Capital Development is currently reviewing business membership on the WIB and mapping goals and a process for identifying, vetting and onboarding business members that more fully align to REDC target sectors and members. Specifically, we aim to add members with industry expertise and leadership in the following sectors:
Sector Focus for WIB Business Members: 1. Administration & Support Services 2. Construction
3. Education Services 4. Fashion
5. Financial Activities
6. Healthcare & Social Assistance 7. IT
8. Leisure & Hospitality 9. Media
10. Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 11. Tourism
12. Trade, Transportation & Utilities
We are placing particular focus on adding business members that represent small-medium enterprises, as over 50% of NYC employment is accounted with these employers, as well as employers that currently utilize workforce development resources and/or would be willing to partner on the development of workforce trainings, incumbent worker advancement and recruiting from Workforce One system .
We also hope to leverage some of the business relationships in the media sector that SBS has cultivated through its Media Employee Training program, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. This program awards media and entertainment businesses with funding to increase the skills of their workers as part of a strategy to grow their businesses.
We are pleased to already have the support and participation of REDC partner Brooklyn Navy Yard and welcome opportunity to further engage with other REDC members and partners.
